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I don't know why I chose this title just yet but I am sure it will come to me as I write. Sorry it has been over a month since I've updated this blog. I guess October flew by so fast that I feel like I missed it. Why does this always happen?

I get so wrapped up in life that the days feel like they are going by quicker and quicker. Sometimes I wish that I could just slow down time and enjoy myself, my husband and especially my kids.

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(Santa Barbara, California) - October 24, 2011 – While Thanksgiving is a great time to bond with family and friends and give thanks for the fulfillment they bring, food is undoubtedly a favorite part of the holiday for many. Traditional dishes like mashed potatoes, yams, and roasted turkeys fill the air with familiar smells, evoking memories of good laughs and full bellies. However, sometimes the same old flavors can lose their luster. This Thanksgiving, add Colman’s Mustard (www.colmansusa.com) to the menu for a zesty flavor that will liven up any of the traditional dishes.

Colman’s Mustard is a natural way to add extra flavor to any healthy meal. Besides being made from naturally grown, top-quality mustard seeds, Colman’s Mustard is gluten free, preservative free, and contains only 10 calories per teaspoon. With a superior taste and unforgettable heat, Colman’s Mustard is a pantry staple for any discerning cook who wants to cook low-fat, flavorful, exciting, natural meals.

Colman's Mustard is tangy, flavorful and adds just the right zing to healthy meals. It is a wonderful dipping sauce for grilled chicken strips, and a delicious spread for sandwiches and veggie burgers. Colman's Mustard would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving meal. Below are a few of my favorite Colman's Mustard recipes.

Colman’s Sweet Potato & Mustard Mash

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes

220ml double cream

6 level teaspoons of Colman’s Prepared Mustard

Juice of 2 Lemons

Preparation:

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into large cubes.
Boil them for 15 minutes in salted water until they are just tender but not soft.
Drain, and transfer to a blender and add the cream. Blend for about 30 seconds until you have a smooth mixture.
Return the potatoes to the pan and stir in the Colman’s Mustard, warm through and add the lemon juice.

Serves 8

(Source: Paul Hartley’s ‘The Colman’s Mustard Cookbook’)



Baked Holiday Ham with Simple Peach Mustard Glaze

A simple, two-ingredient glaze makes this baked ham a snap to prepare and bake.

Ingredients:

1 large ham, ready to cook, about 10 to 12 pounds

1 cup peach preserves or peach jam

2 tablespoons Colman’s Prepared Mustard

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°.
Place the ham on a rack, fat side up, in a large baking pan or roasting pan. Score the ham lightly all over with a sharp knife. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan and cover tightly with foil.
Bake the ham for about 18 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 148°. Meanwhile, combine the preserves and Colman’s Mustard to make the glaze.
About 20 minutes before the ham is done, brush the ham all over with glaze ingredients.

Serves 8

(Source: About.com)

The Healthy Mom's Magazine is hot for Colman's!

About Colman’s

Established in 1814, Colman’s of Norwich has been recognized widely as the English mustard in the U.K. Using a unique and zesty blend of brown mustard seeds (Brassica Juncea) and white mustard seeds (Sinapis Alba), Jeremiah Colman created a mustard with a flavorful heat sensation that has become an essential condiment and paramount ingredient in Britain’s favorite recipes, even to the highest royal order. In 1866 Queen Victoria bestowed the ultimate seal of approval - the Royal Warrant – galvanizing Colman’s as the crown jewel of mustards, securing its place in the most discerning kitchens around the world. Sold as prepared mustard and mustard powder, Colman’s provides a pure, fiery and complex condiment for all your recipes and dishes. Complete Your Cooking With Colman’s. Visit Colman’s of Norwich on the web at www.colmansusa.com and follow us on Twitter @colmansmustard1. For recipes, extended history and information please visit www.colmansusa .com.

*Disclosure: I received a jar of Colman's mustard and a can of Colman's Double Superfine Mustard Powder in exchange for this review. All opinions are accurate and 100% mine.

Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

We all want to make sure that our loved ones are happy and most of all stay healthy. Teaching your children to make smart choices about what they eat and encouraging physical activity is only the beginning of living a healthy lifestyle. But did you know that more than 80,000 dangerous chemicals are found in every day products on the market today? These toxins have not been adequately safety tested and are used by millions of Americans. Do you know what is in your new carpet, child's toys or your baby's bottle? These items are not sold with ingredient labels, but maybe they should.

The US government's first attempt to raise awareness of this issue was through congress passing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1976. The new law was supposed to require companies to develop safety information for the thousands of chemicals that we come into contact with on a daily basis and to give government the power to regulate the dangerous ones. Even after the law passed 62,000 chemicals in use at the time remained on the market without testing. The EPA has only required testing on a few hundred of those toxins and today more than 20,000 new chemicals have been introduced a lot of them without information about how they may impact our health.

You may find these chemicals in various places throughout your home including:

• Flooring
• Windows
• Fragrances
• Food Can Linings
• Nonstick Cookware
• Stain-resistant Fabrics
• Carpeting
• Pizza Boxes
• Fast Food Containers
• Paints
• and Pavement from Parking Lots and Driveways

Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), Trichloroethylene (TCE) and toluene, and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in the products listed above can lead to health related illnesses like, cancer, infertility, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cataracts. I believe that further research should be done on these chemicals and products to find out if they are truly causing the increase in certain illnesses.

Over the last three decades there has been an increase in children's brain cancer and leukemia by 40% in the US. I am skeptical as to whether or not the increase in childhood cancer is directly related to the products we use every single day.

Breast cancer has also more than doubled in 30 years. The greatest increase in the US is among younger women who are not at high risk for the disease. Is this also related? I think more research needs to be done before we jump to conclusions.

Although, many people believe that these chemicals are directly related to the increase in health problems in the US. The last President's Cancer Panel report stated that exposure to toxic chemicals is significant and grossly under recognized risk factor for cancer. They recommended that the government take immediate action to reverse the trend. The panel decided that Congress should reform the Toxic Substances Control Act. They think that the US EPA should regulate known and suspected carcinogens.

The key word here in my opinion is "suspected." If we are not sure if some of these chemicals are causing diseases like cancer than the government should help provide the funding for scientists and researchers to conduct studies on these suspected chemicals. As for all the children and women who have suffered with cancer surveys can be conducted to learn more about the products these people used every day. There is still more to learn.

Once more evidence is found linking these chemicals to health hazards I believe that Americans should be informed so that they can make educated decisions about the purchases they make. Government regulation is not the answer, only through education we can make smart decisions for our family.

America is a Republic. The power is in the hands of our people, not the Federal Government. More regulation will hurt economic growth and take away our rights as American citizens to participate in a free market. Big Brother may think that we are not intelligent but I disagree. The Government however should educate society through public service ads once a link between these chemicals and the rise in health side effects is established. I also think that more companies should list the ingredients found in their products on the market today. But the government should not step in.

Do you believe that toxic chemicals are to blame for the increase in cancer and other diseases in the US today? Do you think that the Federal Government should revise the Toxic Substances Control Act and regulate chemicals found in every day products? Or do you think that through education we as American citizens can make our own decisions on what we expose our families to and what we purchase? If you believe that the Government needs to step in you can voice your concern by signing the petition to encourage your representatives to co-sponsor the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011.

*Please note: this is an editorial and may or may not reflect the opinions of all the writers here on The Healthy Moms Magazine.


Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

We are all familiar with the famous Christmas story, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge learns about the true meaning of Christmas and giving when he is visited by three ghosts. The spirits of the past, present and future reveal to him that he is living a life of greed and selfishness. During the joyous Christmas season Scrooge learns that by giving to others he can find true happiness. This story has been told and retold many times over for all ages.

Charles Dickens also introduced us to Ebeneezer's business partner, Jacob Marley. Although all we learn in A Christmas Carol is that Marley was his partner and had recently died. We don't know how he died or what kind of person he was.

When I found out that R. William Bennett wrote a book about Jacob T. Marley I became curiouser and curiouser. Who was this man?

In Jacob T. Marley, R. William Bennett brilliantly explains the life of Marley from when he was a boy to how he built his business and partnered with Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Marley was miserly just like his partner. But why didn't he get a second chance like Scrooge? Or did he? Jacob Marley is also visited by a spirit who teaches him a lesson about life. Why was Marley allowed to return to visit Scrooge? These questions are answered in "The story of the ghost who visited Scrooge Jacob T. Marley." This book is a clever story of salvation and forgiveness; a must read for Christmas this year.

Jacob T. Marley is available to purchase on Amazon.com as a Kindle book, hardcover or audio CD.

*Disclosure I received a copy of Jacob T. Marley, the advanced reader's edition from Smith Publicity, Inc. in exchange for this review. All opinions are accurate and 100% mine.


Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

Rockin' Rider Ponies Get Your Kids Moving - The Healthy Moms Magazine Christmas Wish List (Giveaway)

With Christmas fast approaching you are probably looking for fun toys that will encourage your kids to stay active even during the cold winter months. Rockin' Rider ponies by Tek Nek Toys combine imaginative play with physical activity. Children can enjoy hours of fun on the Rockin' Rider while Mom and Dad save some cash this Christmas season.



My children (ages 2-5) love playing with "Lucky" the deluxe talking plush spring horse. When it arrived my two sons got excited and anxious for Mom to put it together. Assembling the pony was simple and only took about fifteen minutes. "Lucky is motion-activated and makes realistic sounding galloping noises and sings the song "I'm a Little Pony," written by award-winning song writer Jim Coffee. The horse is soft and the base is strong and sturdy which is safe for children 2-6 years. My kids love "Lucky" so much that we have to make sure they take turns to avoid fights. I like the fact that it does not take up too much space in our playroom and it encourage my children to move their bodies to make him rock and bounce.



Tek Nek Toys carries a wide selection of Rockin Riders. Their top selling talking plush rocker is ideal for children ages 18mo - 3 years. It comes in a variety of colors including their popular pink and brown. The synchronized mouth allows the horse to talk and sing "I'm a Little Pony." These ponies also have easy grip handles, makes whiny galloping noises and has a sturdy plastic rocking base. The talking plush rockers are affordable and can be purchased at these fine retailers, AAFES, Duckwall, Kmart, Orscheln USA, Pamida, Toys "R" US, Wal-Mart and online at Amazon, eToys, Kmart, Target, Toys R Us, and Walmart.




As part of our Christmas Wish List one Healthy Moms Magazine reader can win a plush rocker for their special little one from Tek Nek Toys. The winner can chose a pink rocker or a brown one. Participants are required to like the Rockin' Rider on Facebook and Follow Rockin' Rider on Twitter in order to enter. After that all you need to do is leave us a comment with your choice of a brown or pink pony.

This contest is open to US residents only and ends on November 7, 2011 at 8am PST.

For extra entries:
Subscribe to our Healthy Living Newsletter

Follow Me on Twitter

Subscribe to The Healthy Moms Magazine

Follow This blog with Google Friend Connect

Digg This Contest

Tweet This Contest

Stumble the Contest

E mail the link to our site or this contest to a friend (make sure you BCC talbertcascia @ yahoo dot com so I have proof of the e mail)

Like The Healthy Moms Magazine on Facebook

Join our Blog Frog Community

Add The Healthy Moms Magazine to your blogroll.

Blog about this contest. Make sure you include a link back.

For every entry including extra entries please leave a separate comment. Winners will be chosen randomly from the comments and e mails that I receive. The contest ends on November 7 , 2011 at 8am PST and is open to anyone in the US. Please leave your e mail address in your comments. All comments without e mail addresses will be disqualified.

*Disclosure: I received "Lucky" the deluxe talking spring horse from Tek Nek Toys in exchange for this review. All opinions are accurate and 100% mine.


Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

Opposites attract, and that is probably why my very masculine husband is a great fit for girly, nurturing me. We have a son who knows exactly who to turn to when he wants specific things, because we are so different in our parenting styles. For example, bath time is quite an adventure. Little man knows I'm more of a push over, so he'll ham it up and pretend to cry to get out of a bath, and I have to snuggle him and coddle him and bribe him with toys to get him into the bath tub. My husband picks him up and basically tosses him in, washes him, dries him, and is done- all without giving little man's protestations a second thought.

Bedtime is another sfasdf. I couldn't get our son to sleep without nursing him, and when I finally weaned him I could only get him to sleep by driving him around in my car until he dozed off. My husband holds him and walks around, ignores his crying, and within 5-10 minutes our son is fast asleep. I could never get away with this. I'm the one my son reaches for when he wants to get away from people who won't put him down, because he knows I'm an easy mark and won't be able to resist his pouting when he asks to be free to run around. As a result, my husband now bathes our son and puts him to sleep each night, while I take care of feeding him and reading to him. We split our parenting duties based on our strengths.

I often hear it's good for children to have parents with different styles, especially if one is more nurturing (because babies need their boo boos kissed) and one is better about discipline (because who wants to raise out-of-control, spoiled brats?). My husband and I are a team and are a united front, but our adventures in parenting, combined with our totally different approaches to handling things, certainly has our smart little guy already plotting how to get his way. I admire my husband's methods (and could learn a lot from him) and have a feeling we had a lot of excitement to look forward to over the years with our son.

Penelope Guzman is a freelance writer and pharmacist who strongly believes in living a healthy lifestyle. As a mom and wife, she also takes care of her family's health by eating well and being active together. Penelope is the owner and editor of Penelope's Oasis, a site dedicated to helping women living great lives by building happy marriages, strong families, living a healthy lifestyle, and more. She enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and hosting home parties.

After the jack-o-lanterns are carved and the kids return from an evening of trick or treats we often search for creative ways to use that leftover pumpkin. Pumpkin is antioxidant rich and high in fiber. Below are a couple of my favorite pumpkin recipes.







Pumpkin Bread

3 c. of pureed fresh pumpkin
1 2/3 c. of sugar
2/3 c. canola oil
2 t. vanilla
4 large eggs
3 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. ground flax seeds (optional)
2 t. soy protein powder (optional)
1/2 c. of chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 c. raisins (optional)

(Makes 2 loaves)

Move oven rack to the lowest position so that the tops of your pans will be in the center of the oven. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottoms only of two loaf pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches or one loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.

Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch loaves for 50 to 60 minutes, 9-inch loaf for 1 hour 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on wire rack. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Pumpkin - Date Cookies

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. of stick margarine or butter, softened
2 c. fresh pureed pumpkin
2 large eggs
2 c. of whole wheat flour
2 t. ground flax seeds (optional)
2 t. soy protein powder (optional)
1 c. chopped dates
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
2 t. baking powder
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Beat sugar and margarine in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin and eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire rack.


Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

2011 marks 10 years after Harkin-Engel Protocol called for end to the worst forms of child labor in cocoa-producing countries

West Bridgewater, MA (October 14, 2011) – This Halloween, children, organizations, and businesses across the U.S. will help children forced to labor on African cocoa farms by participating in the 5th annual “Reverse Trick-or-Treating” campaign. By handing out informational cards along with organic, Fair Trade chocolates from West Bridgewater, MA-based Equal Exchange when they go trick-or-treating, participants bring attention to the thousands of children who have been trafficked and forced to work in exploitative conditions on West African cocoa farms.

To order Reverse Trick-or-Treating kits of 150 chocolates and cards, non-profit organizations, schools, businesses, congregations, youth groups, and other group participants should place orders by mid-October so they arrive on time for Halloween from www.equalexchange.coop/rtt. The information card may also be viewed or downloaded from that website. Individual participants or families can participate by visiting www.reversetrickortreating.org.



This year’s Reverse Trick-or-Treating program marks the 10th anniversary of the September, 2011, signing of the Harkin-Engel Protocol that called for an end to the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa supply chains of the major chocolate companies. The campaign to raise awareness that there is a Fair Trade alternative to child labor is a join initiative of the San Francisco, CA-based human rights advocacy group Global Exchange and Equal Exchange and was launched in 2007, two years after the original Harkin-Engel deadline by when all signatories were to have ended the worst forms of child labor. Ten years after the protocol’s signing, most of its conditions have still not been met. In contrast, Equal Exchange sources its Fair Trade and organic cocoa from farms in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, and Ecuador. The vanilla from Madagascar and sugar from Paraguay for Equal Exchange’s chocolate are also certified Fair Trade and organic.

The program has been popular thanks to the increasing awareness of, and concern about, child labor on cocoa farms. Indeed, in 2010 alone, participants reached over 200,000 households. It has been most popular (by order of participant numbers) in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Illinois, as well as in Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington.

“When the leading chocolate companies signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol 10 years ago, many of today’s Trick-of-Treaters hadn’t even been born, yet child slavery in the cocoa fields continues,” said Kelsie Evans, Equal Exchange Chocolate Products Coordinator. “With Equal Exchange’s Reverse Trick-or-Treating program, today’s children can say ‘enough is enough’ and let consumers nationwide know that Fair Trade chocolate prohibits child or forced labor and trafficking and ensures farmers receive fair wages.”

Many Fair Trade advocacy organizations and religious denominations are actively pressing chocolate companies to adopt Fair Trade sourcing practices. In September, 2011, Global Exchange, Green America, and the International Labor Rights Forum, released “STILL Time to Raise the Bar: The Real Corporate Social Responsibility Report for the Hershey Company” as the company has been the least involved of the leading chocolate companies in adopting changes to its sourcing practices.

For more information, see:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/equalexchange?sk=app_208195102528120

Background information - http://www.equalexchange.coop/child-labor-in-the-cocoa-industry.

Global Exchange - www.reversetrickortreating.org

STILL Time to Raise the Bar - http://ilrf.org/stop-child-forced-labor/cocoa-campaign/news/as-profits-soar-chocolate-industry-fails-to-deliver-on-p



About Equal Exchange
A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is an award-winning, full service, nationwide provider of high quality organic coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, healthy snacks and bananas. Their organic, Fair Trade cocoa-based products include nine 3.5 oz bars ranging from 38% to 80% cocoa content, bite-size .16 oz chocolate ‘minis’, hot cocoa mix, spicy hot cocoa mix, and baking cocoa.

100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 40 small farmer co-operatives in 22 countries. In keeping with its Fair Trade mission and belief in economic democracy, Equal Exchange is a worker co-operative, owned and governed by its 110 employees, with offices, warehouses and/or cafes in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon. Equal Exchange Minis are vegan, and gluten- and soy-free.

We all gain weight in the winter. Without swimsuit season looming, it's easy to gain a few pounds, especially with the Holiday goodies. Government statistics say that over half of all Americans are overweight and the National Institute of Child and Health Development released a study several years ago that the average American gains one pound per year during Holiday Season and never takes off that weight. This means that every decade adds 10 pounds! Here are some easy tips on how to prevent that weight gain this Holiday Season:

Eat first thing in the morning

Get your metabolism going early. If you don't eat breakfast, your metabolism won't get started until later in the day. Studies show that people who skip breakfast tend to gain more weight than people who don't.

Get in a short workout first thing in the morning
Again, it's all about the metabolism. Get your heart pumping early. Even if you only have 10 minutes, that's better than nothing and that short bit of exercise can go a long way in getting your metabolism moving early. If you have a treadmill at home, go run as fast as you can for 10 minutes. If you don't, just do some push-ups, jumping jacks, run the stairs, anything to get your body moving first thing in the morning.

Use milk instead of creamer
They do it all the time in Europe. Milk is a tasty but low-calorie alternative to creamer, especially when you use skim milk. Flavored creamers may be tempting, but most people can't help adding too much and it's full of calories. If you can't drink your coffee or tea black, opt for skim milk.

Set your top weight limit
Most people know what they have to weigh to be able to fit into their clothes. Let's say you've noticed that your clothes get tight at 130 pounds. If you find that you've hit 130, it's time to buckle down. Give up sweets completely for 2 weeks until you get below 130, then slowly re-introduce sweets if you must. If you never allow yourself to get above your ideal weight limit, you won't end up adding 10 pounds per decade like most Americans.

If you're not hungry, don't eat very much
This sounds obvious, but most people don't follow this rule. Most people think they are required to eat dinner just because it's 7:00. Let's say you went out to lunch and had a Coke, white bread to start, a pasta dish, and a few bites of chocolate cake, and a coffee with creamer. How many calories do you think you had? 2000? There is probably a reason you're not hungry at dinner, so don't force yourself to eat. Feel free to munch on an apple and a yogurt, but don't feel like you have to eat another Pasta dinner just because it's nighttime.

Staying thin isn't easy, but with these tricks you might find it's easier than you thought and it's worth it if you can eat those extra cookies on Christmas morning, right?


Katie Mullen is the busy Mom to two toddlers, ages 3 and 1. She works full-time doing sales to support her husband through medical school and beyond. Katie’s husband is a surgeon in training, which means he is often gone and works grueling hours, leaving Katie to be a single Mom for much of the week. Despite this, Katie is a big believer in always looking for the positive in life and writes about how she does this in her blog, Mommy with Selective Memory Katie is a former athlete and is still active in running and training. Her husband is an orthopedic surgery resident and has a special interest in triathalons and is even doing clinical research on barefoot running. The happy but very busy family resides in the Mid-west where they enjoy being outdoors.